Drapes are used during a variety of surgical procedures to protect sterile surgical zones from microbial invasion. One example of a surgical draping system is disclosed in U.S. Patent Publication No. 2005/0022822 to Santilli et al. This draping system includes a first, closed container within which a first sheet is disposed. The first sheet has first and second opposed ends, the first end of the first sheet being removable from the container to remove a desired portion of the first sheet from the container, the second end of the first sheet remaining within the container. The first container is laid across a desired portion of the table prior to placing the patient on the table. After the patient has been positioned properly and prepped, the first sheet can be pulled from underneath the patient and pulled out of the first container so that the sheet covers the table in the area of surgical interest and then covers the entire side or end of the table down to the floor. A second sheet may also be included to cover other portions of the operating table, as well as a third sheet to cover portions of the patient during pre-operation preparations.
Another surgical draping system is disclosed in published U.S. Patent Publication No. 2003/0028196 to Bonutti. This surgical draping system is intended for use in knee operations and includes a first drape that is positioned over the patient and an operating table so that the patient's leg extends out of an opening in the first drape. A second drape is connected between the first drape and a gown on a surgeon to isolate the patient from the surgeon and/or an assistant. The first and/or second drapes may include attachments for surgical instruments such as suction, Bovie, arthroscopic equipment, etc. The second drape may have a large pouch to collect fluids, blood, etc., so they do not drain onto the floor and are instead collected for disposal. Moreover, the second drape may also include a drain, with or without active suction, to remove fluid and other debris.
Another type of surgery in which drapes play an important role is spinal surgery. During many spinal surgeries, a fluoroscopy (i.e., x-ray) machine is used to take various pictures of the patient's spine. This may be important for determining whether devices implanted in the spine are correctly positioned and installed, for example. A typical fluoroscopy machine used during spinal surgeries has a “C” shape, as illustrated in FIG. 1. This shape allows it to be rotated around the patient's back to take x-rays anteriorly/posteriorly, or from the side of the patient.
A traditional prior art surgical draping system for use in spinal surgery is a large, rectangular drape that covers the patient and hangs down over the sides of operating table. The drape has a surgical access opening therein exposing the patient's back, and the hanging portions of the drape hang approximately to the surgeon's knee level. One significant drawback of this arrangement is that it may be difficult to freely rotate the C-arm underneath and/or around the patient during surgery without brushing the hanging drape. Not only is this an inconvenience, but if the drape were to get caught up with the C-arm, this could lead to movement of the drape, and potentially its removal from the patient. This, in turn, could lead to an increased chance of microbial invasion and, therefore, infection.